Samad Farkhani - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Samad Farkhani
Progress in Materials Science, Mar 31, 2024
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2015
Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed as vehicles for efficient delivery of various mol... more Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed as vehicles for efficient delivery of various molecules. An ideal CPP-peptide should not display any toxicity against cancer cells as well as healthy cells and efficiently enter into the cell. Because of the cationic nature and the intrinsic vector capabilities, these peptides can cause cytotoxicity. One of the possible reasons for toxicity of CPPs is direct translocation and consequently, pore formation on the plasma membrane. In this study it was demonstrated that interaction of poly-glutamate with CPP considerably reduced their cytotoxicity in A549 cell. This strategy could be useful for efficient drug delivery mediated by CPP.
Artificial cells, nanomedicine, and biotechnology, Jan 17, 2015
Quantum dots (QDs), as a new class of fluorescent tags, have been widely used for biomedical appl... more Quantum dots (QDs), as a new class of fluorescent tags, have been widely used for biomedical applications. Despite their various advantages, QDs do not efficiently enter cells on their own, and aggregation often occurs following internalization. In the present study, we have designed three QD-cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) complexes to increase the uptake of QD into cells. The results demonstrated that R9 and R5W3R4 form relatively stable noncovalent complexes with QDs, considerably increasing the rate and efficiency of QD uptake by A549 cells. These data suggest that cationic CPPs could efficiently transfer QDs into cells in a non-toxic manner.
Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin, 2015
Breast cancer is the second leading cancer type among people of advanced countries. Various metho... more Breast cancer is the second leading cancer type among people of advanced countries. Various methods have been used for cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the present study we have designed and synthesized a new group of drug delivery systems (DDS) containing a new class of Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) named Peptide Amphiphiles (PAs). Two PAs and anionic peptides were synthesized using solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), namely [KW]4, [KW]5, E4 and E8. Then nano-peptides were synthesized by non-covalent binding between PAs and poly anions as [KW]4-E4, [KW]4-E8, [KW]5-E4 and [KW]5-E8. Flow cytometry studies showed that increased chain length of PAs with a higher ratio between hydrophobicity and net charge results in increased intracellular uptake by MCF7 cells after 2h incubation. Moreover, nano-peptides showed greater intracellular uptake compared to PAs. Anti-proliferative assay revealed that by increasing chain length of PAs, the toxicity effect on MCF...
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
The human genome is exposed to mutations during the life cycle because of many types of changes i... more The human genome is exposed to mutations during the life cycle because of many types of changes in the DNA. Viruses, radiation, transposons, mutagenic chemicals, or any errors that happen during DNA replication or the meiotic process in the cell, may cause the mutation. Many mutations have no effect on phenotype or health, while some mutations cause crucial diseases such as cancer or cardiac diseases; therefore, a better understanding of the effects of mutation on phenotype is a very important part of genetic studies. Biosensors based on DNA, RNA, and peptide nucleic acids are the most sensitive tools, due to a strong pairing of lined up nucleotide strands between bases in their complementary parts. These methods can provide information to assist clinicians in making successful treatment decisions and increase the patient survival rate. In this review, we discuss DNA biosensors based on peptide nucleic acids that have an important role in cancer diagnosis.
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2014
Quantum dots (QDs) are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sci... more Quantum dots (QDs) are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sciences that used for imaging or tracking macromolecules/cells in cell/tissue. Because of QDs are important in biomedical and biological applications, identify a variety of synthesis methods to produce QDs with different characteristics also is particularly important. Hence, in this review the authors discussed three methods for synthesis of heavy metal chalcogenide-based QDs for use in biomedical field: (i) Organometallic method for synthesis of QDs consists of three components: precursors, organic surfactants and solvents. The authors also discussed water-solubilisation strategies of synthesised QDs including encapsulation and ligand exchange. (ii) Aqueous synthesis technique using short-chain thiols as stabilising agents is a useful alternative to organometallic synthesis of CdSe, CdS and CdTe QDs. (iii) The third method discussed in this article for QDs synthesis involves the utilise of microorganisms to prepare QDs with controlled size, shape, chemical composition and functionality. The authors also discussed recently new methods for the synthesis of the appropriate QDs for use in biology. In addition, attachment of biomolecules such as antibodies, oligonucleotides on the surface of QDs for specific targeting and different opinions about toxicity of QD have been studied.
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
The synthesis of different kinds of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has attracted much attention. D... more The synthesis of different kinds of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has attracted much attention. During the last few years, a large portion of the articles published about MNPs have described efficient routes to attain shape-controlled and highly stable MNPs with narrow size distribution. In this review, we have reported several popular methods including co-precipitation, microemulsion, thermal decomposition, solvothermal, sonochemical, microwave-assisted, chemical vapor deposition, combustion, carbon arc, and laser pyrolysis, for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles.
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2014
Fibres with diameters less than 1000 nm (or 1 µm) are defined as nanofibres and they can be produ... more Fibres with diameters less than 1000 nm (or 1 µm) are defined as nanofibres and they can be produced by several processing techniques, particularly by electrospinning (ES) technique. ES technique was invented by Formhals in 1934 that in this the electrical field imposes a uniaxial stretching of a viscoelastic jet derived from the polymer solution to continuously reduce the diameter and leads to formatting nanofibres. It is simple and cost-effectiveness technique for preparation of nanofibres. Electrospinning allows for fabricating polymer fibres with diameters varying from 3 nm to greater than 5 µm and in the past decade due in large part to a higher interest in nanoscale properties and technologies. In synthesis process of nanofibres by ES technique, many factors affect on the synthetic nanofibres properties such as polymer properties, solvent properties, additives, polymer concentration, solution properties and so on. In this study, the authors reviewed basic electrospinning and introduces various polymers for preparation of nanofibres.
Peptides, 2014
Efficient delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic molecules to the cells and tissues is a difficul... more Efficient delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic molecules to the cells and tissues is a difficult challenge. The cellular membrane is very effective in its role as a selectively permeable barrier. While it is essential for cell survival and function, also presents a major barrier for intracellular delivery of cargo such as therapeutic and diagnostic agents. In recent years, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), that are relatively short cationic and/or amphipathic peptides, received great attention as efficient cellular delivery vectors due to their intrinsic ability to enter cells and mediate uptake of a wide range of macromolecular cargo such as plasmid DNA (pDNA), small interfering RNA (siRNAs), drugs, and nanoparticulate pharmaceutical carriers. This review discusses the various uptake mechanisms of these peptides. Furthermore, we discuss recent advances in the use of CPP for the efficient delivery of nanoparticles, nanocarriers, DNA, siRNA, and anticancer drugs to the cells. In addition, we have been highlighting new results for improving endosomal escape of CPP-cargo molecules. Finally, pH-responsive and activable CPPs for tumor-targeting therapy have been described.
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2012
This review introduces quantum dots (QDs) and explores their properties, synthesis, applications,... more This review introduces quantum dots (QDs) and explores their properties, synthesis, applications, delivery systems in biology, and their toxicity. QDs are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sciences and are widely anticipated to eventually find application in a number of commercial consumer and clinical products. They exhibit unique luminescence characteristics and electronic properties such as wide and continuous absorption spectra, narrow emission spectra, and high light stability. The application of QDs, as a new technology for biosystems, has been typically studied on mammalian cells. Due to the small structures of QDs, some physical properties such as optical and electron transport characteristics are quite different from those of the bulk materials.
Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 2015
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are used for delivering drugs and other macromolecular cargo int... more Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are used for delivering drugs and other macromolecular cargo into living cells. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between the structural/physicochemical properties of four new synthetic peptides containing arginine-tryptophan in terms of their cell membrane penetration efficiency. The peptides were prepared using solid phase synthesis procedure using FMOC protected amino acids. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting and fluorescence imaging were used to evaluate uptake efficiency. Prediction of the peptide secondary structure and estimation of physicochemical properties was performed using the GOR V method and MPEx 3.2 software (Wimley-White scale, helical wheel projection and total hydrophobic moment). Our data showed that the uptake efficiency of peptides with two tryptophans at the C- and N-terminus were significantly higher (about 4-fold) than that of peptides containing three tryptophans at both ends. The distribution of arginine at both ends also increased the uptake efficiency 2.52- and 7.18-fold, compared with arginine distribution at the middle of peptides. According to the obtained results the value of transfer free energies of peptides from the aqueous phase to membrane bilayer could be a good predictor for the cellular uptake efficiency of CPPs.
Progress in Materials Science, Mar 31, 2024
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2015
Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed as vehicles for efficient delivery of various mol... more Cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) were developed as vehicles for efficient delivery of various molecules. An ideal CPP-peptide should not display any toxicity against cancer cells as well as healthy cells and efficiently enter into the cell. Because of the cationic nature and the intrinsic vector capabilities, these peptides can cause cytotoxicity. One of the possible reasons for toxicity of CPPs is direct translocation and consequently, pore formation on the plasma membrane. In this study it was demonstrated that interaction of poly-glutamate with CPP considerably reduced their cytotoxicity in A549 cell. This strategy could be useful for efficient drug delivery mediated by CPP.
Artificial cells, nanomedicine, and biotechnology, Jan 17, 2015
Quantum dots (QDs), as a new class of fluorescent tags, have been widely used for biomedical appl... more Quantum dots (QDs), as a new class of fluorescent tags, have been widely used for biomedical applications. Despite their various advantages, QDs do not efficiently enter cells on their own, and aggregation often occurs following internalization. In the present study, we have designed three QD-cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) complexes to increase the uptake of QD into cells. The results demonstrated that R9 and R5W3R4 form relatively stable noncovalent complexes with QDs, considerably increasing the rate and efficiency of QD uptake by A549 cells. These data suggest that cationic CPPs could efficiently transfer QDs into cells in a non-toxic manner.
Advanced pharmaceutical bulletin, 2015
Breast cancer is the second leading cancer type among people of advanced countries. Various metho... more Breast cancer is the second leading cancer type among people of advanced countries. Various methods have been used for cancer treatment such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In the present study we have designed and synthesized a new group of drug delivery systems (DDS) containing a new class of Cell Penetrating Peptides (CPPs) named Peptide Amphiphiles (PAs). Two PAs and anionic peptides were synthesized using solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), namely [KW]4, [KW]5, E4 and E8. Then nano-peptides were synthesized by non-covalent binding between PAs and poly anions as [KW]4-E4, [KW]4-E8, [KW]5-E4 and [KW]5-E8. Flow cytometry studies showed that increased chain length of PAs with a higher ratio between hydrophobicity and net charge results in increased intracellular uptake by MCF7 cells after 2h incubation. Moreover, nano-peptides showed greater intracellular uptake compared to PAs. Anti-proliferative assay revealed that by increasing chain length of PAs, the toxicity effect on MCF...
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
The human genome is exposed to mutations during the life cycle because of many types of changes i... more The human genome is exposed to mutations during the life cycle because of many types of changes in the DNA. Viruses, radiation, transposons, mutagenic chemicals, or any errors that happen during DNA replication or the meiotic process in the cell, may cause the mutation. Many mutations have no effect on phenotype or health, while some mutations cause crucial diseases such as cancer or cardiac diseases; therefore, a better understanding of the effects of mutation on phenotype is a very important part of genetic studies. Biosensors based on DNA, RNA, and peptide nucleic acids are the most sensitive tools, due to a strong pairing of lined up nucleotide strands between bases in their complementary parts. These methods can provide information to assist clinicians in making successful treatment decisions and increase the patient survival rate. In this review, we discuss DNA biosensors based on peptide nucleic acids that have an important role in cancer diagnosis.
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2014
Quantum dots (QDs) are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sci... more Quantum dots (QDs) are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sciences that used for imaging or tracking macromolecules/cells in cell/tissue. Because of QDs are important in biomedical and biological applications, identify a variety of synthesis methods to produce QDs with different characteristics also is particularly important. Hence, in this review the authors discussed three methods for synthesis of heavy metal chalcogenide-based QDs for use in biomedical field: (i) Organometallic method for synthesis of QDs consists of three components: precursors, organic surfactants and solvents. The authors also discussed water-solubilisation strategies of synthesised QDs including encapsulation and ligand exchange. (ii) Aqueous synthesis technique using short-chain thiols as stabilising agents is a useful alternative to organometallic synthesis of CdSe, CdS and CdTe QDs. (iii) The third method discussed in this article for QDs synthesis involves the utilise of microorganisms to prepare QDs with controlled size, shape, chemical composition and functionality. The authors also discussed recently new methods for the synthesis of the appropriate QDs for use in biology. In addition, attachment of biomolecules such as antibodies, oligonucleotides on the surface of QDs for specific targeting and different opinions about toxicity of QD have been studied.
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
Artificial Cells, Nanomedicine, and Biotechnology, 2014
The synthesis of different kinds of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has attracted much attention. D... more The synthesis of different kinds of magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) has attracted much attention. During the last few years, a large portion of the articles published about MNPs have described efficient routes to attain shape-controlled and highly stable MNPs with narrow size distribution. In this review, we have reported several popular methods including co-precipitation, microemulsion, thermal decomposition, solvothermal, sonochemical, microwave-assisted, chemical vapor deposition, combustion, carbon arc, and laser pyrolysis, for the synthesis of magnetic nanoparticles.
IET Nanobiotechnology, 2014
Fibres with diameters less than 1000 nm (or 1 µm) are defined as nanofibres and they can be produ... more Fibres with diameters less than 1000 nm (or 1 µm) are defined as nanofibres and they can be produced by several processing techniques, particularly by electrospinning (ES) technique. ES technique was invented by Formhals in 1934 that in this the electrical field imposes a uniaxial stretching of a viscoelastic jet derived from the polymer solution to continuously reduce the diameter and leads to formatting nanofibres. It is simple and cost-effectiveness technique for preparation of nanofibres. Electrospinning allows for fabricating polymer fibres with diameters varying from 3 nm to greater than 5 µm and in the past decade due in large part to a higher interest in nanoscale properties and technologies. In synthesis process of nanofibres by ES technique, many factors affect on the synthetic nanofibres properties such as polymer properties, solvent properties, additives, polymer concentration, solution properties and so on. In this study, the authors reviewed basic electrospinning and introduces various polymers for preparation of nanofibres.
Peptides, 2014
Efficient delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic molecules to the cells and tissues is a difficul... more Efficient delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic molecules to the cells and tissues is a difficult challenge. The cellular membrane is very effective in its role as a selectively permeable barrier. While it is essential for cell survival and function, also presents a major barrier for intracellular delivery of cargo such as therapeutic and diagnostic agents. In recent years, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), that are relatively short cationic and/or amphipathic peptides, received great attention as efficient cellular delivery vectors due to their intrinsic ability to enter cells and mediate uptake of a wide range of macromolecular cargo such as plasmid DNA (pDNA), small interfering RNA (siRNAs), drugs, and nanoparticulate pharmaceutical carriers. This review discusses the various uptake mechanisms of these peptides. Furthermore, we discuss recent advances in the use of CPP for the efficient delivery of nanoparticles, nanocarriers, DNA, siRNA, and anticancer drugs to the cells. In addition, we have been highlighting new results for improving endosomal escape of CPP-cargo molecules. Finally, pH-responsive and activable CPPs for tumor-targeting therapy have been described.
Nanoscale Research Letters, 2012
This review introduces quantum dots (QDs) and explores their properties, synthesis, applications,... more This review introduces quantum dots (QDs) and explores their properties, synthesis, applications, delivery systems in biology, and their toxicity. QDs are one of the first nanotechnologies to be integrated with the biological sciences and are widely anticipated to eventually find application in a number of commercial consumer and clinical products. They exhibit unique luminescence characteristics and electronic properties such as wide and continuous absorption spectra, narrow emission spectra, and high light stability. The application of QDs, as a new technology for biosystems, has been typically studied on mammalian cells. Due to the small structures of QDs, some physical properties such as optical and electron transport characteristics are quite different from those of the bulk materials.
Advanced Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 2015
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are used for delivering drugs and other macromolecular cargo int... more Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are used for delivering drugs and other macromolecular cargo into living cells. In this paper, we investigated the relationship between the structural/physicochemical properties of four new synthetic peptides containing arginine-tryptophan in terms of their cell membrane penetration efficiency. The peptides were prepared using solid phase synthesis procedure using FMOC protected amino acids. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting and fluorescence imaging were used to evaluate uptake efficiency. Prediction of the peptide secondary structure and estimation of physicochemical properties was performed using the GOR V method and MPEx 3.2 software (Wimley-White scale, helical wheel projection and total hydrophobic moment). Our data showed that the uptake efficiency of peptides with two tryptophans at the C- and N-terminus were significantly higher (about 4-fold) than that of peptides containing three tryptophans at both ends. The distribution of arginine at both ends also increased the uptake efficiency 2.52- and 7.18-fold, compared with arginine distribution at the middle of peptides. According to the obtained results the value of transfer free energies of peptides from the aqueous phase to membrane bilayer could be a good predictor for the cellular uptake efficiency of CPPs.